Parents in South Korea will start receiving a monthly child care allowance of 100,000 won ($88) per child 5 years old or younger, starting from July 2018, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

From next April, low-income seniors will also receive more from the state pension over their lifetime, an official said Wednesday.

The plans to increase financial support for child care and low-income seniors were decided on at a policy coordination meeting attended by officials from the government, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Cheong Wa Dae.

Related bills will be introduced at the National Assembly in early October at the latest, the Health Ministry said.

The new child care subsidy program is expected to benefit 2.53 million children next year, according to data from the government. Each year, the government will spend around 1.1 trillion won to run the program.

Basic pension recipients -- those older than 65 and belonging to the bottom 70 percent by income -- will receive up to 250,000 won per month, up from 200,000 won. The payment is set to further increase to 300,000 won by 2021.

With the increase in pension payment, the elderly poverty rate is expected to fall from the current 46.5 percent to 42.4 percent by 2021.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)